Purple bubble anemone won't find a place

[Aquatic Bobs]

My wife and I bought a purple bubble anemone three or four days ago and all it's done is floating around one spot in the tank basically just laying on the sand. It seems to be doing all right however anytime it gets a piece of food that cleaner shrimp comes over and tries to steal it. I'm kind of curious why he won't move onto a rock and attached? Does he need help with this or should he just do it on his own?

 

[CC13]

My wife and I bought a purple bubble anemone three or four days ago and all it's done is floating around one spot in the tank basically just laying on the sand. It seems to be doing all right however anytime it gets a piece of food that cleaner shrimp comes over and tries to steal it. I'm kind of curious why he won't move onto a rock and attached? Does he need help with this or should he just do it on his own?

Anemones settle on a spot that they are happy with. It needs to meets their flow and lighting intensity requirements and if its moving it means it hasn't yet found a spot that satisfies both. Your lights may not be strong enough, flow too much/too little or a combination of other things.

 

[davocean]

I think you have an LTA there, which is a sand dwellar.
Scoop a well in sand close to rock, bury it's foot, turn pumps off for 15 minutes or so and see if it sets.

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

I think you have an LTA there, which is a sand dwellar.
Scoop a well in sand close to rock, bury it's foot, turn pumps off for 15 minutes or so and see if it sets.

Are you sure it's a long tentacle? The store told us it was a bubble tip oh, how can you tell the difference?

 

[reef lover]

Lta

 

[davocean]

LTA have a red foot and spotted verracue.
They would definitely go to sand bed.

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

So this is definitely an LTA?

 

[davocean]

Yes.

It's new and tightly contracted, gives the tentacles kinda of BTA ish Appearance right now in pics, and maybe why LFS employee confused it, but red foot and spotted verracue are the ID for LTA.

LFS often mis ID nems

I personally would rather have LTA, if you have a sand bed it will stay there, easier to contain IMO

 

[BradB]

Definitely not a bubble tip anemone Looks like a lta, but I wouldn't rule out sebae.

 

[davocean]

Definitely not a bubble tip anemone Looks like a lta, but I wouldn't rule out sebae.

Sebae would have a yellowish foot, and their underside has bumps that look kinda like chicken skin

 

[RJinPV]

I certainly looks like the Purple LTA anemone that I had. To get it to settle I did exactly what davocean suggested. It stayed settled in the spot I selected for months and got very large. Then one day it started to move. So I put it back in the same spot. It stayed there for a few weeks and then went on the move again. I ultimatley sold it back to the LFS because I wanted my clowns to have a host anemone and they ignored the LTA.

 

[davocean]

This is LTA


This is sebae(Crispa)

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

Yes.

It's new and tightly contracted, gives the tentacles kinda of BTA ish Appearance right now in pics, and maybe why LFS employee confused it, but red foot and spotted verracue are the ID for LTA.

LFS often mis ID nems

I personally would rather have LTA, if you have a sand bed it will stay there, easier to contain IMO

The only thing is we want our clowns to host it:-( and so far they've completely ignored it

 

[davocean]

Well it's only been 3-4 days, give time.

BTA is not natural to a lot of clowns we keep, so unless it was a maroon, or one of the less popular clowns that are natural to BTA, or an overly eager clarki it would probably still be ignored for a while, maybe long while.

What clowns do you have?

 

[Aquatic Bobs]

Well it's only been 3-4 days, give time.

BTA is not natural to a lot of clowns we keep, so unless it was a maroon, or one of the less popular clowns that are natural to BTA, or an overly eager clarki it would probably still be ignored for a while, maybe long while.

What clowns do you have?

Two of the ocellaris clowns

 

[davocean]

Two of the ocellaris clowns

Right, occs and percs are most common by far, and BTA is not natural to those, so it often takes a very long time for them to recognize.

Really for occs mag, gig, mertensi are the only natural as found in wild match, but all 3 of those can be challenging for most novice reefers.

While LTA is not natural, I've found both those and Malu are often accepted and usually much faster then BTA would be.

 

[davocean]

I certainly looks like the Purple LTA anemone that I had. To get it to settle I did exactly what davocean suggested. It stayed settled in the spot I selected for months and got very large. Then one day it started to move. So I put it back in the same spot. It stayed there for a few weeks and then went on the move again. I ultimatley sold it back to the LFS because I wanted my clowns to have a host anemone and they ignored the LTA.

Are they the ones in avatar?
Hard to tell from small pic, ocellaris?

Did you trade for a mag?

 

[Gonebad395]

Yeah lta and it sometimes takes a minute to years for clowns to find their nem. It will come in due time one day you’ll look in the tank and bam they are in it. Your nem loves the sand make sure you turn your pumps off or it will just get blown around.

 

[RJinPV]

Are they the ones in avatar?
Hard to tell from small pic, ocellaris?

Did you trade for a mag?

They are a pair of Oclelaris clowns and they are now hosting in a Rose bubble tip, which lost it bubble shaped tips after it settled into my tank and then split 3 -4 times

 

[davocean]

They are a pair of Oclelaris clowns and they are now hosting in a Rose bubble tip, which lost it bubble shaped tips after it settled into my tank and then split 3 -4 times

I'm surprised they went into BTA faster than LTA for you.
Some people go a year or more w/ BTA's and occs or percs